


You've Got Me (Popping Champagne)

by buoyantsaturn



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, New Year's Kiss, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 10:23:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13164942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/pseuds/buoyantsaturn
Summary: “Only two hours left. Aren’t you excited?”“No,” Nico said, yanking his sleeve down until it covered his fingers.





	You've Got Me (Popping Champagne)

**Author's Note:**

> people drink champagne on new years right (title from poppin' champagne by all time low bc its late and this was the best thing i could think of that wasn't 'the final countdown')
> 
> happy new year (a few days early)!!!!
> 
> this is my first ever soulmate au so i hope you enjoy!!

Nico hated seeing the soultimer printed on his wrist - it reminded him of Bianca’s, which had stopped with about a year left on the clock on the night she died. He couldn’t even look at his own timer without picturing Bianca’s in his head. So he would cover his up, always wearing long sleeves or a bracelet thick enough to cover the clock.

Hazel was the exact opposite, something of a hopeless romantic. She had read all of the research on soulmates that she could find online, and had even found a few websites that would tell someone the exact date and time that they would meet their soulmate, based on whatever time they had printed on their wrist (give or take about a minute, of course). 

She’d already calculated her own meeting time, and had  _ begged _ Nico to let her figure out his meeting time. He’d finally told her that she could, as long as she didn’t tell him, but he should’ve known better of his own sister. 

Hazel had come running down the stairs, practically squealing, and nearly tackled Nico in a hug. “It’s New Year’s Eve!” Hazel exclaimed. “That’s  _ so _ romantic!”

 

* * *

 

That particular New Year’s had been three years away at the time, but after graduating high school, time had flown by. The past few years, Hazel had let Nico hide away at home on New Year’s, but no matter how much he argued, Hazel had insisted that he tag along to some party with her.

“What’s your timer at?” Hazel asked for about the fiftieth time that week. 

“I don’t care,” Nico huffed. 

Hazel rolled her eyes and grabbed Nico’s wrist, pushing his sleeve up so that she could glance at the clock before turning her eyes back to the road. “Only two hours left. Aren’t you excited?”

“No,” Nico said, yanking his sleeve down until it covered his fingers.

“You’ll change your mind once you meet them,” Hazel told him, but Nico just crossed his arms and slouched further in his seat.

 

When Will realized that his timer would stop on New Year’s Eve, his first thought was to host a party, invite a ton of people, and tell them to bring whoever they wanted. His apartment was practically overflowing, but as the host, he had the perfect excuse to talk to every person at the party - and he checked his timer after every interaction.

He’d gotten distracted for maybe half an hour and when he looked up, he could see a few more people he hadn’t greeted. 

“Hazel, right?” he said once he’d fought his way across the room. “Piper’s friend? I’m Will, the host.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Hazel said, and shook Will’s hand. “This is my brother--” She glanced to the side to see that Nico was no longer behind her, and huffed. “Sorry, my brother  _ was _ right behind me.”

“It’s fine, I’m sure I’ll run into him eventually,” Will said. “Anyway, enjoy the party! There’s drinks and snacks in the kitchen, help yourself.” He turned back towards the crowds of people in his house and sighed, scanning the place for any unfamiliar faces.

 

Nico had made a beeline for the kitchen and poured himself a drink. He wasn’t going to survive the next hour completely sober, especially since the only person he recognized at the party was his own sister - who he would  _ not _ be speaking to until the next day at the earliest.

He downed a shot of tequila before mixing himself a drink - which was definitely more Jack than Coke - before sitting back on the counter and trying to pretend that he was anywhere else.

Nico could see the front door from where he sat and lost track of how many more people came into the apartment, but he soon couldn’t handle the cramped space or the increasingly loud noise. He hopped off the counter and downed the last of his drink, dropping the cup at the counter before pushing his way through the room until he spotted the fire escape through a window. 

He climbed through the window and shut it behind him. He had to brush the snow off of one of the steps leading up to the next floor before he sat down, already so cold that he didn’t think he’d be able to spend too much more time outside. 

He peeled his sleeve back, barely glancing at the time on his wrist before pulling the sleeve back over his fingers. Five minutes, eighteen seconds. He put his head in his hands and took a few deep breaths. He wasn’t ready to meet his soulmate, who’s to say that they’ll even  _ like  _ him? What if his soulmate was a girl, or their relationship was purely platonic - which it definitely would be if his soulmate happened to be female. What if he really was destined to be alone forever?

There was only about three minutes left. Plenty of time for Nico to run down the fire escape and, well, escape. Even that might take too long, though. Maybe he could jump, could he survive a fall from the third floor? Despite his racing heart as the seconds ticked down, he couldn’t make himself move. It was as if he’d frozen to the metal step he was sitting on.

He almost looked back at his wrist, but then he heard the window slide open next to him. He half expected it to be Hazel, finally insisting that he quit moping and join the party, but instead it was a pretty blond boy that Nico had never seen before.

“Oh!” he said, window already half-closed behind him. “Sorry, I didn’t know anybody else was out here. I’ll just--”

“Wait!” Nico called, and jumped off the step. He stumbled as he stood, catching himself on the rail just as the partygoers inside started counting down from ten. He stepped closer to the other boy and held out his own arm, sleeve pulled back to reveal his timer, now a series of zeros. 

Nico could vaguely hear cheering coming from inside the apartment, but he was more focused on stepping forward again, unsteady on the tips of his toes as he framed the other boy’s face with his hands. Pretty boy caught Nico by the waist to keep him upright as Nico surged up and pressed their lips together.

Nico heard once that a kiss with your soulmate made sparks fly, but he thought it felt more like fireworks. Or maybe those were the fireworks going off a few blocks away.

The kiss broke when Nico couldn’t hold himself up on his toes any longer. “Hi,” he said, gaze locking on the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. “Um. Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” pretty boy replied. “I’m Will.”

“I’m...drunk, I think.”

Will smiled, and Nico was almost blinded by such a beautiful sight. “Maybe you should come inside to warm up and have some water. And then maybe I can learn my soulmate’s name?”

Nico’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re my soulmate.”

“I am,” Will said. “I threw this whole party just for you.”

Nico frowned. “That’s dumb, I hate parties.”

Will knocked his forehead against Nico’s. “You’re adorable. Come on, darling, let’s go inside.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading and again happy new year!!!


End file.
